Use your iris, face, or fingerprint to unlock Windows 10 devices

Traditional passwords seem increasingly less secure with each high-profile hack, and we’re already using our fingerprints to unlock certain phones and tablets - so why not our computers, as well?

That’s the plan with Windows 10, thanks to a newly announced (and importantly, optional) feature that Microsoft is calling Windows Hello. With the right hardware built into your machine, you’ll be able to use your face, fingerprint, or your eye’s iris to unlock a device.

And furthermore, the system can be used to unlock secured local apps, as well as web apps. That’s accomplished via the addition of Microsoft Passport, which sounds like a 1Password-style password manager. It’s compatible with Windows Hello, so you can use your biometric scan with that highly secure password keeper.

Your biometric data is locked to your device and never transmitted across servers, so someone would have to physically steal your laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone to try and gain access. But even then, it’s unlikely, as Windows Hello won’t recognize a photo of someone as opposed to a live person in front of the camera.

Microsoft claims that it’s “enterprise-grade security” that can thrive in business as well as help common users, and it’s all towards a goal of making Windows 10 devices more personal as well. And Microsoft has joined the FIDO Alliance working towards a post-password future, to help share the technology with others.